Founded in 1837, Barrackpore Government High School is one of the oldest secondary schools in West Bengal, established when the town was the military headquarters of British India. The main building is a colonial-era structure of some architectural interest, and the school's long history — it predates the 1857 Mutiny — gives it an unusual historical resonance in a town that was central to that event.
The school is still in operation and not open for casual visits, but it is visible from the Barrackpore Trunk Road near Talpukur. For those interested in the colonial period, it represents the educational ambitions of the Raj in the cantonment towns — a grammar school for the children of British soldiers and Indian administrators alike.